Mountainhead is Jesse Armstrong’s latest movie for HBO, and the writer’s directorial debut. It stars Steve Carell, Ramy Youssef, Jason Schwartzman, and Cory Michael-Smith, and sets the four into a private residence at the top of a Utah mountain as wealthy men taking a retreat. They’re all tech millionaires and billionaires, and one of them is the owner of the app called Traam, currently under fire for AI usage. It’s a tragicomedy/satirical drama, and takes place at a house called Mountainhead entirely.
Armstrong is a strong and talented writer with a long career; he’s written, produced, and has been a consultant on some of the most awarded and entertaining TV shows of all time. These are great shows to watch if you liked this movie, including those that feature the main cast. So, here are ten shows to watch if you love Mountainhead.
10
‘Bored to Death’ (2009–2011)
Fans of Jason Schwartzman can obviously watch his most famous show, Bored to Death, in which he starred between 2009 and 2011. It’s a bonus that this is an HBO show, since Mountainhead is an HBO movie; Bored to Death was, during its airing, a highly popular show. Despite that, it got canceled after three seasons, and fans started a petition for its return, which didn’t work, but the showrunners still highly appreciated it. Schwartzman is joined by Zach Galifianakis and Ted Danson, and all three deliver exceptional performances in this quirky, charming comedy.
Bored to Death follows a Brooklyn-based writer, Jonathan Ames (Schwartzman), who moonlights around town as an unlicensed private detective. Ames is a real-life person, and he essentially wrote the screenplay about himself, even putting his best friends into the show as George (Danson) and Ray (Galifianakis). The story follows Jonathan working on some unusual cases, but also moving forward with his writing career. It’s funny, charming, and easy to follow, and Schwartzman really delivers.
9
‘The Four Seasons’ (2025–)
Steve Carell stars in the ensemble dramedy The Four Seasons, which premiered in May 2025 on Netflix, and got renewed for another season almost immediately. In addition, Colman Domingo, one of the core cast members, has been nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor and carries the show’s only nomination (this year, anyway). The show was co-written by Tina Fey, who also stars in it, and feels like a bunch of friends coming together to talk about some normal human stuff, like long relationships, midlife crises, finding oneself, and how to relate to a partner after a long time.
The Four Seasons is about a group of friends and married couples: Kate and Jack (Fey and Will Forte); Nick and Anne (Carell and Kerri Kenney-Silver); and Danny and Claude (Domingo and Marco Calvani). Across eight episodes we see these couples navigating each others’ needs, as well as their own; at the beginning of each episode is a title card referencing winter, summer, spring, or fall. Carell portrays Nick, who has a sudden transformation, and his role is one of the more serious ones; some might even consider him slightly villainous (when you watch it, you’ll understand). The show is pretty fun and easy to binge-watch, and Carell is currently in his best years.
8
‘Ramy’ (2019–2022)
Ramy Youssef might have the most powerful show among his castmates here, as he’s the author, writer, and producer of the self-titled series Ramy, which isn’t rooted in real-life, at least not fully. Watching Ramyfeels like observing a close friend make terrible decisions, and you wish you could tell him something, but you know he won’t listen, anyway. Ramy is an award-winning A24 series, having earned Youssef a Golden Globe and two Emmy nominations. There are three seasons for now, but we’re hoping for a fourth.
Ramy follows Ramy Hassan navigating life through his relationships with his parents, sister, friends, and girlfriends. The show also cleverly depicts the various plights of living as a Muslim American in a politically divided neighborhood, focusing often on Ramy’s parents, too. Hiam Abbass, Mo Amer, Amr Waked, and May Calamawy co-star alongside Youssef, and are at the top of their game here. Ramy is an incredible show full of heart, amazing jokes, and interesting and sometimes shocking plot twists. If you like Youssef in Mountainhead, you’ll adore him in Ramy.
7
‘Silicon Valley’ (2014–2019)
If watching Mountainhead puts you in a mood to watch tech bros unravel some more, you can turn on HBO’s award-winning iconic series Silicon Valley. It’s one of the best comedies ever made, and, along the lines of Mountainhead, features a bunch of wealthy tech guys not knowing what to do with their money. The show mocks the current that was prevalent during the 2010s, when people in tech suddenly became important; this is normal, as the rising possibilities of technology and AI were mainly discovered and observed during the 2010s, and those who were able to make discoveries without a glitch were considered groundbreaking talents.
Silicon Valley follows the talented programmer Richard Hendricks (Thomas Middleditch), who works for the tech conglomerate Hooli (kind of like Google IRL). In his free time, Richard works on a data compression app, and when he succeeds in creating it, he realizes he’s on the brink of something genius. He leaves Hooli to open his own startup, gathering a group of like-minded friends to develop the company. The show follows their progression and the surrounding trends; surprisingly, it has some exciting and often tense episodes, and is hilarious overall.
6
‘Industry’ (2020–)
Industry is another HBO series that vibes similarly to Mountainhead but follows more intricately the personal lives of people who work as investment bankers in London. While watching both, there’s a feeling of engaging with people who know what they’re talking about while we don’t, and that’s why we feel like we can trust them. In Mountainhead, it’s not recommended to trust everything the four rich guys say, but in Industry, it’s desired; these are, after all, investment bankers predicting trends and investment opportunities. It’s one of the best and most underrated shows that’s come out lately.
Industry is an ensemble show, but it’s predominantly led by Myha’la and Marisa Abela, who play two of several university graduates vying for a job at the Pierpoint & Co. trading floor. The show is a slow burn and shows the ruthless requirements of working in finance, but it also depicts the personal lives of the people we see as newcomers and then seasoned traders throughout the show. Similar, but different, you’ll enjoy the two programs just the same.
5
‘Peep Show’ (2003–2015)
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Few people know that Armstrong is one of the co-creators of Peep Show, the UK’s legendary sitcom that blends cringe comedy, black comedy, and farce while using the first-person perspective of its protagonists. Armstrong was also one of the main writers of the show, with additional input from its leading stars, David Mitchell and Robert Webb. Mitchell and Webb are a well-known British comedy duo, and despite being best known for Peep Show, they also had a couple of sketch shows and radio and TV appearances.
Peep Show follows Mark (Mitchell) and Jeremy (Webb), roommates and best friends living in London. Scenes and episodes take turns in being shown from either Mark’s or Jeremy’s POV, paired with their inner monologue, and plenty just show the daily lives of the two friends, their mutual friends, and workplace antics. Peep Show is one of the most hilarious sitcoms out there, and if you missed it until now, you’re in for a thrill and a great laugh.
4
‘Dead Pixels’ (2019–2021)
Dead Pixels is an underrated British sitcom that only lasted for two seasons but was pretty funny during its run. Armstrong was the executive producer for the series, and the creator and writer, Jon Brown, is a self-described avid gamer for whom Dead Pixels was a logical project in a way. The show stars some of the UK’s most talented comedy actors right now, including Charlotte Ritchie (Ghosts) and Rose Matafeo (Starstruck). It may not be totally like Mountainhead, but you’ll still like it for the short-lived fantasy sitcom it was.
Dead Pixels follows three roommates: Meg (Alexa Davies), Nicky (Will Merrick), and Alison (Ritchie); Meg and Nicky obsessively play the MMORPG game Kingdom Scrolls, while Alison tries to get them to live a more present life. The show depicts their personal lives, romances, and dynamics, and often transitions into fantasy-like action scenes. Critically praised and beloved, Dead Pixels deserved more, but it’s still great to watch even with two seasons only.
3
‘The Thick Of It’ (2005–2012)
Many associate The Thick Of It with Armando Iannucci, but Armstrong was one of the series’ writers throughout its entire run. Iannucci and Armstrong have a great collaboration track record, with some of the most essential satirical comedies of the 21st century; The Thick Of It is one of their collaborations, and it will adorably remind you of Mountainhead in the most unusual places. Satirizing people in power seems to be Armstrong and Iannucci’s forte, with The Thick Of It becoming one of the most influential sitcoms ever.
The Thick Of Itfollows a newly appointed British Prime Minister, Hugh Abbot (Chris Langham), and his crisis manager and deputy, Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi). Abbot is a blundering person while Tucker is more of an “enforcer,” and a lot of the things that happen under Abbot’s charge are actually Tucker’s decisions, who instills fear into people around Number 10. There are Armstrong’s signatures all over the place, in dialogue style and plot twists, and it’s a highly amusing show.
2
‘Veep’ (2012–2019)
Veep is closely related to The Thick Of It, and though Armstrong doesn’t have a lot to do with Veep, he was one of the consultants on the show that Iannucci created together with another The Thick Of It alum, Chris Addison. Veep is often considered one of the greatest satires of all time, and fans of Mountainhead would love it—plenty have probably watched Mountainhead because of Veep, too.
Veep follows the US Vice President Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and the members of her competently incompetent cabinet, including the neurotic chief of staff Amy (Anna Chlumsky), zany director of communication Mike (Matt Walsh), and her bodyman Gary (Tony Hale), among others. Meyer is brash, often unpleasant, and highly competitive, and her cabinet tries to make her look good for the presidential polls; however, she’s often out of luck or encounters crazy bumps in the road, which often include her own personality or those of her staff. Veep is simply a satirical masterpiece, and though different from Mountainhead conceptually, they’ll still feel like being in a similar vein.
1
‘Succession’ (2018–2023)
Succession is, of course, Armstrong’s (currently) most famous author work, and one he delivered brilliantly across four seasons and 39 episodes. This saga of a wealthy dysfunctional family is Shakespearean in nature(a tragicomedy) and a character study that dives into the highly toxic and traumatic pasts of the protagonists only in glimpses. In a way, we don’t have to know what has happened to them as children; it’s pretty obvious by what sort of adults they are. Regardless, there’s a lot to look into, and Succession is an incredibly complex story that feels simple on the surface. It’s one of the greatest shows ever made, and congratulations to Armstrong for having the wits to write it.
Succession is set in modern-day NYC and follows the media mogul Logan Roy (Brian Cox) and his children: first-born Connor (Alan Ruck), and three kids from his second marriage, Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Siobhan (Sarah Snook), and Roman (Kieran Culkin). The successors use humor and deflection as a coping mechanism, while Logan convincingly never feels like he makes mistakes. There’s a similar sentiment in Mountainhead, where taking accountability isn’t the main takeaway, and the men just continue being themselves (as terrible as that may be).
